


Damian starves himself

by BatBoyBlog



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Robin (Comics)
Genre: Anorexia, Fame, Other, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-19 16:19:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18973585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatBoyBlog/pseuds/BatBoyBlog
Summary: Tim helps Damian deal with the downsides of being one of the world's most famous teenagers.





	Damian starves himself

Tim Drake narrowed his eyes across the table at his brother. Tim was very good at watching people without seeming to watch them. He didn’t eat at the manor all that much, not formal sit down meals with Bruce and Damian any way. However he’d made a point of it these last few weeks. Tim often wondered how Bruce could be the greatest detective in the world, but miss things right under his nose. It had taken Tim three meals to be totally sure, he was now. Damian wasn’t eating. 

Damian was a good actor Tim had to give him that, managing to take bites that seemed bigger than they were, move and mess his food so it looked like he’d finished half a plate. However Tim was sure his brother was one eating at most a fourth of whatever was in front of him. Right after every meal Damian was up and off. Tim was pretty sure he wasn’t throwing up, no Damian went straight to the cave and did a hard workout for 4 or 5 hours to burn off whatever calories he’d managed to eat at dinner. 

Tim watched Damian bound off toward the cave. “He’s been working out more lately” Bruce commented dryly. Tim looked at him and wondered if he was really that clueless after all. They tucked into dessert, which Damian had skipped, in silence. Bruce cleared his throat “Alfred and I have some business in the city, maybe you should stay for awhile” 

“Sure Bruce, I was kinda planning on it any ways”

“good” 

Tim waited for two hours playing with the leftover whip cream from his cheese cake before making his way to the cave. He moved like a wraith, a silent shadow down the stairs into the cave. He saw Damian then covered in sweat punching the bag over and over. Damian was stripped to the waist and Tim could count the younger boy’s ribs, his stomach sunk into under his rib cage. His skin seemed gray and the shadows under his eyes were worse, his hair seemed flat and greasy. 

“Want to spar?” Tim said as casually as he could pretending he didn’t notice Damian’s little jump of surprise. “-Tt, Drake you’re no match for me” he was winded. Tim ignored him and started to pull off his street clothes to show off his Robin costume underneath. “What are you doing wearing that?” Damian said sharply as Tim’s old uniform came out into the open. “ah, well I noticed you’ve been looking a little slow out there little D, thought you might need me to step in” 

“Tt!” with that sharp inhale Damian was across the room on the attack. Tim blocked him easily, he was slow, far slower than he should have been, his blow was weaker too. Tim’s foot snaked out and cut Damian’s feet from under him. Damian narrowly rolled away as Tim punched down. Over the next few minutes they traded blows around the room, Damian never seeming to land any of his own. Soon he was panting like a dog and swaying like a drunk. Tim had no trouble controlling his breathing “So Damian gonna tell me what’s a matter with you?” 

“tt…*huff* nothing” 

“come on, you’re winded and we’ve been at this what, 7 minutes?” 

“I *pant* was *pant* working out *pant* before”

“bad excuse and we both know it, why haven’t you been eating?” a snarl covered Damian’s face and for the first time all night he moved with real energy. He crossed the space in two steps and threw himself at Tim knocking him to the floor. The boys wrestled on the ground, graceless and wild, raw emotion stripping away training. Finally Tim rolled on top pinning Damian down with his weight. Tim wiped blood from his split lip from his chin and panted “if you don’t start talking I’ll force feed you cake for the rest of the night so help me god” Damian struggled for a movement and went limp. 

“You know those, stories, in the tabloids? the ‘You’ll never believe what they look like now!’ stories?” 

“yeah”

“well a few months ago, the News of the World did one on me. They got pictures from the pool and the beach, drew circles over my six pack. then they put them along side of pictures of me just after I put on some weight. The headline was ‘Death of the beach Bod: Damian Wayne’s spiral into obesity” 

Tim sat back on his heels and looked down at his brother “So you started starving yourself?”

“No! I eat” Tim crocked an eyebrow “just not, as much” 

“we both know that’s bullshit, are you gonna stop” Damian looked away and the silence stretched uncomfortably “I’ll help you if you want”

“Promise never to tell Todd” 

“deal”


End file.
